Khanderi, the second Kalvari class Scorpene submarine, was launched by the Union minister of state for defence Subhash Bhamre at the Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL).
The submarine will undergo rigorous tests and trials on the surface and underwater before it is commissioned into the Indian Navy as “INS Khanderi” at the end of the year in December.
The Khanderi is armed with torpedoes, as well as tube-launched anti-ship missiles, whilst underwater or on surface. These missiles are capable of being launched from underwater or from the surface.
The submarine is built in India by Mazagon Dock Limited under a transfer-of-technology agreement with the French naval defence group DCNS.
The Khanderi has been built using the “modular construction” technique. That means its manufacture was divided into several sections and they were outfitted concurrently. This is a complex task involving laying kms upon kms of cabling and piping in extremely congested compartments.
The most important safety milestone, called “vacuum testing”, was completed in the very first attempt and on a single day, January 5. That matched the record of the earlier Scorpene Kalvari, which also completed these tests in one shot – a feat unmatched in submarine construction history.
The submarine is powered by a diesel-electric engine. That means that Khandari won’t be able to remain submerged for long durations and will have to resurface to recharge its batteries using a snorkelling pipe.
Khanderi can also run in extreme temperatures, giving it an invulnerability unmatched by many other similar crafts. It can undertake various types of missions which are typically undertaken by any modern submarine, like anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying and area surveillance.
Khanderi is named after the island fort of Maratha forces, which played a vital role in ensuring their supremacy at sea in the late 17th century. The state-of-the-art features of the Scorpene include superior stealth and the ability to launch crippling attacks on the enemy using precision-guided weapons.
